During Teton County's weekly COVID-19 update, St. John's Health CEO Paul Beupre said the vaccine progress is going pretty smoothly in the county. Yet, he said the state is not receiving as many vaccine doses as it should be, according to the amount of vaccine the federal government has purchased.
The federal government purchased 200 million Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses.
"Wyoming was slated to receive 45,000 doses," said Beyore. "If you do the math and you figure it out by state, we should be getting 125,00 doses. But instead we were slated to get 45,000 doses."
Wyoming Department of Health's Kim Deti said that assessment is not accurate. She said the 45,000 doses likely only includes what the state has received so far and expects to receive for first doses only through January. Deti said people should focus on the benefits of the vaccine and when an individual will be able to receive it.
Both agree that communities need to continue to be careful.
"Even though a vaccine is beginning to roll out, we are still in a fight for our lives," said Beupre. "We need to continue to social distance, wear a mask and be mindful of our social circles."
Teton County COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are once more increasing. The county has begun inviting individuals 80 and older to sign up for appointments to get the vaccine.
